The present invention relates to a thin connector, in particular, to a substrate-to-substrate connector comprising a first connector having a flat plate shape and a second connector having a flat plate shape superimposed on and fitted with each other in a fitting plane.
As a connector of this type, for example, JP 2012-226977 A discloses a connector as illustrated in FIG. 31. The connector comprises a receptacle 2 mounted on a first substrate 1 and a plug 4 (not shown) mounted on a second substrate 3. In the receptacle 2, a plurality of receptacle contacts 5 having spring characteristics are formed to be arrayed as illustrated in FIG. 32, and in the plug 4, protruding plug contacts 6 are formed to be arrayed as illustrated in FIG. 33.
Each of the receptacle contacts 5 has a main arm portion 5a curved so as to form inside thereof an opening portion S, an auxiliary arm portion 5b provided so as to face the main arm portion 5a, and a projection portion 5c provided in the vicinity of the tip end of the main arm portion 5a and the tip end of the auxiliary arm portion 5b, as illustrated in FIG. 34. The opening portion S is to receive the plug contact 6.
As illustrated in FIG. 35, upon superimposing the plug 4 on the receptacle 2, the protruding plug contacts 6 of the plug 4 are inserted into the opening portions S of the corresponding receptacle contacts 5, and in this state, the plug 4 mounted on the second substrate 3 is slid in the direction of the arrow C with respect to the receptacle 2 mounted on the first substrate 1 as illustrated in FIG. 36, whereby each of the protruding plug contacts 6 of the plug 4 moves as having its side surface kept in contact with the main arm portion 5a over the whole length thereof and is elastically caught among the tip end of the main arm portion 5a, the tip end of the auxiliary arm portion 5b and the projection portion 5c. Thus, the receptacle 2 and the plug 4 are fitted with each other, and the receptacle contacts 5 and the plug contacts 6 are electrically connected in this manner.
However, as illustrated in FIG. 36, the connector has a structure in which the plug 4 mounted on the second substrate 3 is slid relatively to the receptacle 2 mounted on the first substrate in the direction of an arrow C orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the receptacle contacts 5 and the plug contacts 6 to be thereby fitted to the receptacle 2. Hence, there is a problem that the connector inevitably has a long length in the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the receptacle contacts 5 and the plug contacts 6.